


A Dungeon Affair

by Shining_Friendship



Category: The Spanish Princess (TV)
Genre: 2x07: Faith rewrite, Because we were robbed, F/M, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Two Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 07:22:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27679355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shining_Friendship/pseuds/Shining_Friendship
Summary: What would have happened between Catherine & Edward during the dungeon scene if they hadn't been interrupted?
Relationships: Catherine of Aragon/Edward Stafford 3rd Duke of Buckingham
Comments: 19
Kudos: 39





	1. Tension

**Author's Note:**

> I own nothing. All rights belong to Emma Frost, Matthew Graham, STARZ, etc.

Catherine walked through the dark, dank corridors of the dungeon with a guilty conscience and a troubled soul. Everything that was happening to Lord Stafford was her doing. Hers and Cardinal Wolsey's. She wished to make it right and free her husband's childhood friend from this hell. She had a plan, one that she prayed with all her heart would be successful, but she needed him to agree in order for it to work. The guard who guided her through the coldest depths of the Tower unlocked his cell and allowed her inside, to which the redhead found the handsome courtier sitting in a chair at one of the tables. 

Edward rose from his seat and addressed her, "Your Grace."

"My Lord Stafford." She fumbled with her freezing hands, passing nervous glances between him and everything around her. "I have seen some of the charges. They are absurd."

"You should not have troubled yourself," he replied softly, his left eye gazing upon her in forlorn sorrow. "I'll be here a few days."

The Queen of England couldn't believe her ears. Despite everything he had already done for her, Edward was still attempting to soothe her worries, to somehow ease her pain. He was more gallant than Henry ever was towards her.

Deepening her resolve for why she had come, Catherine shook her head and pressed forward.

"I see it clearly now. The King's mood has darkened, and the Cardinal exploits it for his own gain. But I may still reason with Wolsey. I believe we have a greater understanding."

"Henry will humiliate me," he informed her with a calm certainity, "but he will not kill me."

"Even so," she pursed her lips, desperate to get the words out before they consumed her completely. "Beg for the King's forgiveness. Wiltshire & Brandon are too afraid to speak out. Promise me you will beg him!"

Stagnant silence filled the tension between them, as Edward studied her petrified form. Her shaken composure could crumble at the sound of a pin dropping.

"Very well. I will beg."

The sense of relief that the redhead expected to feel upon hearing him agree to her request was soon thrown a curveball when he sauntered towards her with a look and an air that she had never seen before.

"For you, my Queen."

The delicacy and devotion coming from his admission hit Catherine like tidal wave. The sentiment made her pulse race and her heart fall into the pit of her stomach because she knew it was sincere. Lord Stafford, her beloved friend and ally, cared for her. _Truly._

"This is all my fault," she confessed with tears welling up in her eyes, unable to hide her intermost thoughts from him any longer.

"It is not," he countered, gently placing his hands on her shoulders. "This is Wolsey's doing. He stops at nothing to be Henry's sole advisor and will tarnish anyone who gets in his way."

"But you are lying to the King because of me!" she cried out, her entire body trembling in fear and anguish. "You have kept my miscarriage a secret from His Majesty—"

"And I would do it again if you asked."

"Why?" the redhead demanded to understand his motives, ignoring the tears that were streaming down her pale cheeks. "Why are you making this incredible sacrifice for me when anyone else in your position would have told the King to redeem themselves and return to his good graces?"

"You know why," Edward whispered, his face so close to hers now that she could feel his warm breath against her skin. "From the moment you came to my aid after that joust, you knew _exactly_ how I felt about you."

With a hard lump forming in her throat, Catherine aimed to shift their heated conversation in a different direction before they reached a point of no return.

"Lord Stafford, what you have done for me these past few days is more than I deserve. I have always valued your friendship and admired your loyalty. But courtly love will not change—"

She was abruptly cut off when the handsome nobleman cupped the back of her neck and devoured her lips in a searing hot kiss.


	2. Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I own nothing. All rights belong to Emma Frost, Matthew Graham, STARZ, etc.

The moment is swift and abrupt. Edward kisses Catherine with an urgency she hasn't felt since before Mary was born. Fire and passion stir in her loins, makes her hot with desire. Deep down, she knows what they are doing is a sin, but she can't stop herself. She needs something—a breathing sigh of relief, a tiny glimmer of hope, a small flicker of happiness—even if she finds it in the most unlikely of places. No words are spoken, as the pair slowly make their way over to his makeshift bed in the corner. Only the sounds of their intermigled breathing, the rustling of clothes being shed could be heard throughout the dank dunegon. Edward helps Catherine remove her dress with a delicacy that astounds her, treating his queen like she is a beautiful piece of stained glass or a cherished heirloom. It is almost as if he has been waiting half a lifetime for this moment—for her love. Perhaps he has.

* * *

" _Does it always rain this much in England_?"

" _Your beauty does cheer the rainy day_."

* * *

" _I know the way, Lord Stafford. I do not need an escort._ "

" _Well, I was your escort when you first came to England. So why break the habit_?"

* * *

" _Do not fret, my lady. I can still admire you with my left eye._ "

* * *

" _I'm ever your servant, madam_."

* * *

Once they are in nothing but their undergarments, Edward picks Catherine up, just as he did the night of her miscarriage, and carefully places her on the cot. Sure hands roam her slender body. Sweet kisses adorn her pale neck and shoulders.

He worships her, is so completely devoted to her that she almost couldn't believe his transformation. Such a far cry from the proud aristocrat who bedded and discarded her lady-in-waiting. His gentleness is tantalizing, enthralling... yet somehow still leaves her in a frenzy. Catherine has been denied the touch of a man's love for too long.

"I am yours from this day until my last, Your Grace."

"Take me," she quietly begs him. "Please, Lord Stafford... I need you so much."

Edward settles over her and, aware that she has not been with Henry since the last time he impregnated her, runs his stiff member along her heated core to prepare her. She is so warm and wet, dripping with desire _for him._ The sensation is so exquisite that it causes him to shudder and a groan escapes his lips. The dashing nobleman knows he has never—would never—want another woman more. He enters her with one swift stroke. His rhythm is slow at first, savoring the moment of being this close to her, two souls bound together as one. His pace, however, soon become hard and unrelenting, seeking to find his own release. She clings onto his sweat-dampened shoulders; all of her worries from before fade away. A moan passes through her lips until he swallows it up. They couldn't afford to risk someone overhearing them. Panting, he thrusts harder, deeper into her as the pleasure between them builds until they've reached their climax. When it is over, they lay tangled in the white bedsheet, basking in the afterglow of their lovemaking. Edward lifts up her chin with his index finger and kisses her rosy lips. She rests her head against his bare chest, taking comfort in the steady sound of his heartbeat.

"I love you," he finally whispers the words they both already knew to be true.

"I know," she interlaces her fingers with his.

"You still love him, don't you?"

"I... I loved the man Henry was when we first met. I loved how he fought for us to be married. And I loved his devotion to me after we lost our first son. But now he’s..."

"Different. Darker. Courtesy of the butcher boy from Ipswitch."

"Yes," she agrees before looking up at him. "I want you to know that neither my marriage to Henry... nor any other force on this earth could have stopped my affection for you. It is God's will."

"You have my heart, Your Grace. No matter what the future holds, no matter what stunts that selfish bastard tries to pull tomorrow, it is yours and yours alone."

Touched by the sincerity of his words, Catherine cups his bearded cheek and draws Edward into a deep kiss.


End file.
